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Mr Hu originally faced more serious allegations of stealing state secrets, but Beijing later downgraded the accusations. Rio Tinto suspended the iron ore negotiations as diplomatic tensions soared between Canberra and Beijing.

Australian officials have said full details of the accusations are not likely to be known until Hu is brought to trial, which experts say may not happen until around April.

In Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters that Mr Hu's case was being "handled by the competent authorities in China in accordance with the law".

Mr Hu was arrested just weeks after Rio snubbed a $19.5bn cash injection from state-run Chinalco, which would have been China's largest ever foreign investment.

Rio said this week it hoped for a "timely and transparent resolution" of the case and was "very keen" to work on new projects with Chinalco. It made no immediate comment on Thursday.

The company has denied any wrongdoing by Mr Hu and defended his actions as a "normal commercial market situation", but emphasised its long-term confidence in China as a customer and strategic partner.